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Japan, Russia discuss joint Mars mission
Japan, Russia discuss joint Mars mission
Yomiuri Shimbun
Japanese researchers, who gave up on an attempt to explore Mars last December, have begun planning another probe to the Red Planet in cooperation with Russia.
Japanese researchers are exchanging information with their Russian counterparts, who will launch their own probe for the first time in 10 years, with an eye to the possibility of installing in the probe a small Japanese satellite that can orbit Mars to study the atmosphere.
The first Japanese probe, Nozomi (Hope), blasted off in 1998, but failed to reach Mars because of a malfunction in the main engine, although it did come close to achieving orbit.
This year, European and U.S. probes discovered evidence that there was once water on Mars, but they were unable to shed any light on whether there had been a huge dissipation of atmosphere from the planet, a task Japanese researchers had hoped to accomplish with the Nozomi.
Did Mars once have an atmosphere? And if so, when did it disappear?
If the probe can discover clues to conditions in the past, they could be used to figure out whether Mars once had an environment capable of supporting life.
The Nozomi's task can finally be accomplished if the new satellite can be placed into orbit around Mars.
A senior official of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA) said the question was one foreign researchers had not yet explored.
"We want to make good use of the Nozomi's data to pull off a cutting-edge achievement," he said.
Anatoli Titarev
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Russia to conduct first simulated mission to Mars
http://en.rian.ru/science/20050620/4054 … 49151.html
Space Lab Returns to Earth
'first steps are not for cheap, think about it...
did China build a great Wall in a day ?' ( Y L R newmars forum member )
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